HISTORY: Historical Sketch of the Altoona Mirror, June 14, 1920, Altoona, Blair County, PA

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                          Historical Sketch of 
                           THE ALTOONA MIRROR

                    Harry L. Johnston, Managing Editor

                     A SOUVENIR OF THE DEDICATION OF
                      THE COMPLETED HOME OF MIRROR
                     PRINTING COMPANY, JUNE 14, 1920

                      PRINTED IN JOB DEPARTMENT OF
                        Mirror Printing Company
                             ALTOONA, PENNA.

Completed Home of Mirror Printing Company - Tenth Street and Green 
Avenue. [photo]

When Harry Slep was a boy mastering the intricacies of the art 
preservative of all arts, he dreamed of owning a newspaper of his own. 

The only kind of dreams that ever come true are the dreams we dream 
when we are wideawake. 

And this young apprentice was not sleeping then - nor has he been 
sleeping since. 

He not only wanted to own a newspaper, but he was determined to possess 
a model newspaper - one that would attract an ever-widening circle of 
friends on its merits; one that would be an influence in the community; 
one that would fight the people's battles; one that would faithfully 
represent the best interests of all the people in every respect; one 
that would be progressive and aggressive; one that would be clean and 
fearless.

He suffered no illusions. He knew that it was no easy task that he had 
set for himself. He was fully aware of the fact that the road to 
Success was no primrose path. He counted the cost in time, energy, 
intelligence, pluck and perseverance and paid the price.

It seems fitting, then, that a brief history of the enduring monument 
which he has erected should be recounted in commemoration of the 
dedication to the service of the people of the completed home of the 
Altoona Mirror.

Naturally any history of the Altoona Mirror must necessarily be a 
history of Harry Slep, for Harry Slep is The Mirror and The Mirror is 
the child of his brain, and of no other. Let us tell the story from the 
beginning.

Harry Slep was born Oct. 24, 1836, in Hesse Cassel, Germany. A few 
years later the family decided to come to America and seek its fortune 
in the land of opportunity. When everything was in readiness his mother 
fell ill with typhoid fever, and it was decided that he should come to 
America with his grandmother. They sailed from Bremen in August, 1846. 
It was a stormy voyage. When the little sailing vessel limped into port 
at Baltimore fourteen weeks later every mast was gone.

The voyage was prophetic of the storms and struggles that were to beset 
one of the passengers later in life. He has faced every tempest with a 
stout heart and clear brain and steady hand.

From Baltimore a Conestoga wagon carried the new arrivals overland to 
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pa., where an uncle lived, with whom 
the boy, Harry Slep, made his home during the winter. He was then 10 
years of age.

He did not idle away his time. He read all the books he could lay his 
hands on. They were not many, in that day, but they were good. He was 
an American now and he wanted to learn the language of the country. The 
books implanted in his breast a desire to become a printer and be able 
to print books. So in the following spring he went to Harrisburg and 
found employment in the Vaderlands Waechter office, then conducted by 
George Bergner, who subsequently became state printer. He was to serve 
six months on probation, at the end of which time, if he proved 
satisfactory, he was to become an apprentice.

Young Slep was quick, apt, always busy, and. at the expiration of his 
period of probation was indentured to serve an apprenticeship of six 
years. That was the rule in those days. In this age only five years are 
required. The object of the six year apprenticeship was to lay a 
substantial foundation on which to build a master workman. So intensely 
interested was the young apprentice in his work and so rapidly did he 
develop that at the age of 16 he was made foreman of Mr. Bergner's 
English and German job office. There are mighty few boys of 16 today 
who are competent to take charge of an important department of any 
business.

Meanwhile, Harry Slep had been dreaming of the day when he should be 
the publisher of a newspaper of his own. And he was preparing himself 
to deserve success. He worked at his trade by day and studied by night.

                            WILL H. SLEP [photo]

For sixteen years a member of the firm of H. & W. H. Slep, publishers 
of the Altoona Mirror. He died December 8, 1906, after which the 
publishing business was incorporated under the name of the Mirror 
Printing Company.

It's a noteworthy fact that young men who follow that plan are the 
young men who get on in the world. Too many boys expect to succeed 
without hard work and are disappointed with the result, very naturally. 
They are only half successes because they only half-tried in a half-
hearted way to succeed. Young Slep was whole-hearted about it.

He completed his apprenticeship on his 18th birthday and then began to 
look about for an opportunity to engage in business for himself.

His first venture was made in 1855, when, having formed a partnership 
with a lawyer named McLaughlin, he purchased the old Gazette, published 
at Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county. It was an independent newspaper. 
The young publisher would have nothing to do with any other kind. He 
could never see the advantage of being bound to any political party. He 
wanted to be free to express his views.

The Gazette was not very profitable and its future was anything but 
bright, so at the end of six months Harry Slep withdrew from the firm 
and returned to Harrisburg.

Destiny was shaping his end. Mechanicsburg was not his field. Although 
he did not know it then, Altoona was to be the place in which he was to 
establish his fame as a publisher.

George Bergner had purchased the Harrisburg Telegraph in the interim 
and Mr. Slep re-entered his employ as assistant make-up on the 
Legislative Record, subsequently becoming the make-up. Remaining with 
Mr. Bergner until the early sixties, he then became foreman of the 
Harrisburg Patriot and Union, now the Patriot, the state capital's only 
morning newspaper, where he spent two years, when he entered the state 
printing office under Boyd Hamilton, then state printer.

In 1865 he was induced to take charge of J. Kirk White's Meadville 
Republican, but because the water in Meadville was tainted with oil and 
injurious to his digestion, Mr. Slep was forced to give up his position 
there. During the next few months he was successively employed in 
Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Williamsport and then went back to 
Harrisburg to become foreman of Theodore F. Scheffer's job office. 

Some time later D. M. Moore, who owned the Altoona Sun job office, 
began to look around for a master printer, and, as a result of an 
interchange of letters, Mr. Slep came to Altoona one day in March, 
1871, and began working for Mr. Moore, as foreman of his printery. The 
Sun job office was then located in the Ebert building at 1108 Eleventh 
avenue.

Altoona appealed to Mr. Slep from the first. He felt at home. Destiny 
seemed to say to him that here he was to establish the newspaper of his 
dreams. The people were hustling and hospitable; the city was 
prosperous; it was growing rapidly; the Pennsylvania railroad was 
developing its plant here; the outlook was inviting; the auspicious 
moment had arrived to begin to build his journalistic enterprise.

As the first step in that direction he established a job office on Oct. 
21, 1872, and called it the Mirror Printing House. From that humble 
beginning was finally evolved the Mirror Printing company and the 
Altoona Mirror of today.

The Mirror Printing House was opened on Thirteenth street, between 
Tenth and Eleventh avenues, next door to the banking house of William 
M. Lloyd. In a little while it was necessary to secure larger quarters 
and the office was moved to the Bowman building at Eleventh avenue and 
Twelfth street, on the site now occupied by the Goldschmid building.

The Evening Mirror was established June 13, 1874, in this location. The 
Bowman building was destroyed by fire Dec. 14, 1896, but the newspaper 
and job office had long before been removed to another site. 

Harry Slep and George J. Akers, under the firm name of Slep & Akers, 
were the publishers of the Evening Mirror, as it was then called. Mr. 
Slep had charge of the mechanical departments and Mr. Akers looked 
after the editorial and news departments. Each edition contained four 
pages of four columns each and sold for one cent.

Incorporators and Original Directors of Mirror Printing Company

The pictures printed on this page are those of the first board of 
directors, of the Mirror Printing company, with the exception of the 
president and founder, Harry Slep.

In the upper row, reading from left to right are: Daniel N. Slep, J. G. 
Humes, and Ed J. Slep. Underneath is Mrs. A. M. Slep.

There were few popular priced newspapers published at that time. Later 
most of them were sold for a penny, but several years ago, when 
newsprint and wages began to rise rapidly, virtually every paper in the 
country was raised to 2 cents and some to 3 cents. And it is doubtful 
if there will ever again be printed a newspaper that can be sold for 
one cent.

The Evening Mirror was fairly successful. Mr. Akers withdrew from the 
firm in 1877 and was succeeded by W. J. Fleming who retired in a little 
while, leaving Mr. Slep the sole owner. The stress and strain of 
conducting a newspaper during the railroad strike shattered Mr. Slep's 
health and he was obliged to sell his newspaper to W. K. Buckingham and 
W. S. Nicodemus. The former was editor and the latter business manager. 
They were backed by the well known law firm of Alexander & Herr. This 
firm was eventually obliged to take over the newspaper, which in 1879 
was sold to E. B. Haines, who changed the name to the Evening Call. Mr. 
Haines did not make a success of his venture and finally moved the Call 
to Harrisburg.

Recovering his health, Mr. Slep founded the first German newspaper ever 
printed in Altoona - The Volksfuehrer, a weekly. The initial issue came 
from the press on March 28, 1878. He published this paper until March, 
1881, when he disposed of it to Louis G. Lamade, who still owns it.

Mr. Slep, meanwhile, continued to conduct his job office, which he had 
removed to a building in the rear of Lawyer Samuel Woodcock's office at 
1122 Eleventh avenue. His eldest son, W. H. Slep, became his associate.

The business of the job office prospered and the lot at 1012 Eleventh 
avenue was purchased and the building thereon erected was remodeled to 
accommodate a newspaper plant.

Here The Mirror was revived on June 16, 1888, but instead of being 
called the Evening Mirror it became the Altoona Mirror, as it has ever 
since been known. The volume and number were resumed where they were 
left off when the name was changed to the Call under the Haines 
ownership.

The firm of H. and W. H. Slep was formed on July 4, 1890. The junior 
member of the partnership was a practical printer as was his father. 
Steady and substantial progress attended the new firm and in a little 
while it became evident that more room must be provided for the 
expanding business. Early in 1892 the lot adjoining the office was 
purchased and a three-story building erected. The first issue of the 
Altoona Mirror from this plant was on May 21, 1892.

Then came the panic of 1893, but H. & W. H. Slep had become so well 
established that they successfully withstood that financial tempest and 
when the country emerged from the depression the Altoona Mirror was in 
a commanding position.

It was a good newspaper with an increasing circulation. But the firm 
wanted to make it a better newspaper and even more widely read. So they 
put the profits back into the business, improving the equipment and 
facilities for printing. Among the most important purchases made at 
that time were two Mergenthaler linotypes, the first to be introduced 
in Central Pennsylvania. Up until this period the newspaper had been 
handset. Now the composition was by machines. Each linotype is capable 
of doing the work of five men.

The first issue of the paper made up entirely of lines cast on these 
wonderful inventions was on Anniversary Day, June 13, 1896, during the 
celebration of the Blair County Semi-Centennial. One of the original 
machines was in continuous use until a year or two ago. Many 
improvements have been made to the linotypes during the intervening 
years. The Altoona Mirror today has a battery of seven of them, some of 
which cast lines of from six point to thirty-six point type.

With increased equipment an enlarged newspaper was made possible. The 
value of newspaper advertising was coming to be better understood and 
our merchants were buying more space. The circulation was growing. 
Additional men and boys were given employment.

HARRY SLEP, President and Founder 
J. G. HUMES, Vice President and Treasurer 
D. N. SLEP, Director 
D. L. POTTER, Secretary 
E. J. SLEP, Director

All this made more commodious quarters necessary. The lot at 1000 
Eleventh avenue was purchased and plans for a three-story brick 
building prepared. Before the new home was ready, fire gutted the old 
office on Nov. 7, 1899. The plant was badly crippled, but only one 
issue of the paper was missed.

The Altoona Mirror moved into its new building in March, 1900, and 
seemed comfortably fixed for years to come. From top to bottom it was a 
well equipped newspaper plant, and quite up to the demands of the 
community. Provision had wisely been made for future development, but 
before long it became apparent that additional room would have to be 
provided.

Up until this time no Altoona newspaper had ever printed more than 
twenty pages in one issue in the ordinary course of business. One 
Friday it was found necessary to print twenty-four pages to accommodate 
the heavy volume of advertising, and that was an event in newspaper 
circles. Hundreds of twenty-four page Mirrors have since been issued 
without causing a ripple. Indeed, they became pretty regular until the 
newsprint shortage became so acute in April of the present year. For 
the past several years thirty-two pages have generally constituted the 
regular Friday editions, and on the occasion of the fall style show of 
1919 it was necessary to print forty pages, which was and still is the 
record.

Seemingly there was nothing to be desired by the firm of H. & W. H. 
Slep. The paper was enjoying a generous patronage; the circulation was 
growing; bills were being discounted; there was not a cloud in the 
journalistic sky.

Then W. H. Slep was stricken with a disease which caused his death on 
Dec. 8, 1906. He was just in the prime of life, with apparently many 
years of usefulness before him. His death was a staggering blow to his 
father and partner. Harry Slep had gradually turned the business over 
to his son and was beginning to enjoy a well merited rest from his 
strenuous labors, when he was called back into the active management 
again by the force of circumstances.

Never having been really out of touch with affairs, he was not long in 
gathering up the loose ends. He had made up his mind what he would do. 
He first purchased his son's interest. Then he converted the firm into 
a corporation under the name of the Mirror Printing company.

Thus what had once been the Mirror Printing House became the Mirror 
Printing Company. The original officers were: President, Harry Slep; 
secretary-treasurer, J. G. Homes; directors, Harry Slep, J. G. Humes, 
Mrs. A. M. Slep, E. J. Slep and D. N. Slep. The charter of the 
corporation was obtained on June 13, 1907.

General View of the Business Office. [photo]

LARGER QUARTERS had by this time once more become imperative and after 
considering a number of available locations the lot at 1000 Green 
avenue was purchased, plans for a new office were prepared and ground 
broken on July 12, 1911. The building was occupied April 1, 1912, by 
the editorial, composing room and press departments and the first paper 
issued on that date. Later the other departments took possession of 
their respective quarters.

The new home of the Altoona Mirror introduced the latest method of 
construction in Altoona. Built of concrete, steel and brick, it was the 
first of its kind in this section. The foundation walls rest on a bed 
of concrete 18 inches thick and 3 feet wide. The foundation is 24 
inches thick and capable of carrying additional stories when needed. 
Concrete columns, resting on pillars 4 feet square, carry the weight of 
the building. There is no weight whatever on the brick walls. All 
floors are of concrete and all interior partitions are of buff brick. 
Steel doors and frames give further protection against fire.

In planning the building every consideration was given to the comfort 
and convenience of the employes. Abundance of natural light is one of 
its notable features. The Green avenue and the Tenth street sides are 
virtually all glass. Electricity furnishes whatever artificial light is 
needed. In the matter of ventilation and heating the systems are as 
nearly perfect as it has been possible to make them.

Occupying the front portion of the first floor is the general business 
office. Along the Tenth street side of this office are private offices 
for the president, advertising manager, cashier and bookkeepers, while 
the remainder of the space inside the counter is devoted to the 
circulation department, clerical force and stenographers. All-steel 
furnishings add much to the appearance of the room.

In the rear of the business office were located the press room; 
sterotyping room and distributing room, until the addition was erected 
this year. A description will be given later.

On the second floor front are located the editorial rooms, where the 
editors and reporters receive and prepare the news of the day for 
publication. The remainder of the floor is taken up with the composing 
room. Seven linotype machines line up the news and many of the 
advertisements. A force of printers make up the advertisements and set 
the display type by hand. A corner of the room is occupied with the 
electric tables, where the mats are made and dried, preparatory to 
being sent to the stereotyping department to be cast into semicircular 
plates to fit the cylinders of the press. Each page of the paper is 
cast in a solid form.

With the exception of a small office, used by the Associated Press 
operator for receiving by leased wire news from all parts of the world, 
the third floor is devoted to the job printing department. Fine job 
work has always been a hobby with the Altoona Mirror. To do really 
first class work requires first class equipment, and that's precisely 
what has been provided. Mirror job work is a standard of excellence. 

After most of the departments of the plant had become settled in their 
new quarters Mr. Slep thought that it would be quite appropriate to 
dedicate the Altoona Mirror's new home to the service of the people. So 
he decided to hold a banquet and have it served in his own building. 
The dedicatory ceremonies took place on Monday, April 15, 1912.

Advertisers of the Altoona Mirror were invited as guests, as were all 
the employes. Every one who attended agreed that it was one of the most 
enjoyable of functions. Covers were laid for upwards of 200 persons.

As the guests arrived, Mr. Slep greeted them at the door. They were 
then escorted through the building by the heads of the departments and 
the various pieces of machinery explained to them. For many of them it 
was a most interesting and instructive tour of inspection. They were 
surprised at the extent of the facilities required in the publication 
of an up-to-date newspaper.

Heads of the Business, Advertising, Circulation and Accounts 
Departments and Their Assistants [photo]

The inspection over, host and guests repaired to the banquet tables on 
the third floor. After the dinner, Mr. Slep himself welcomed the guests 
in a brief speech, in the course of which he said:

"Gentlemen, friends, old and young:

"It gives me great pleasure tonight to meet you in our new home. I 
welcome you. I welcome you, not because I am vain or proud of our 
building itself, but I am proud of what The Mirror has accomplished in 
the years of its existence, at least thirty-nine years. It seems a long 
time. When the young look toward the coming 40 years they think that 
they will be old men; when they come to be 50 years old, they begin to 
think that they are going down the other side; when they are 70 years 
of age they then are wishing that they could see 80. That at least has 
been my experience.

"When I was a boy, when I was 18 years old. I used to think that I 
would live to be 30 years, anyhow, and I would try to make a good 
record as a man and as a printer, and now, tonight as I look over the 
many faces, many of which I have seen before, men whose hands I have 
grasped in welcome day after day, I see a goodly number here whom I 
have never met - not because I did not desire to meet you, but because 
of the pressure of business on your side and on my side. We have never 
met socially and tonight it has been my object to bring you together 
that we might all clasp hands, rub shoulders, and become better 
friends, more energetic, in our several occupations; to let go of all 
selfishness, of all bickering and all strife, and to be better friends, 
working together for one object - an Honest Business and a Bigger 
Altoona and a Cleaner City.

"This, my friends, has been my prime object in bringing you together 
here tonight, not to make a vain showing, but bring you together hoping 
we may feel more brotherly kindness, one to another. Years ago the 
advertisers would quarrel with, each other, through the press. They 
would criticize their competitors and endeavor to throw bricks through 
their windows; but of late years that has not been the case, I am glad 
to say, and I am pleased to state that the press of this city has 
placed its disapproval on all such advertising. The press is not a 
sewer. It aims to elevate, to make better men, to create a better 
feeling and to create a cleaner and more healthy atmosphere in our 
business and in our homes.

"Be happy tonight in one another's presence, and when we leave here, 
make up your minds that, if you had any animosity towards your 
competitor, if you feel that you have had anything to criticize, just 
overlook it and let it pass. We are all travelling toward the great 
beyond. We all soon shall pass away, and when we do our neighbors can 
say of us: 'He was a good man, he was a clean merchant, he was an 
honest felow.' How much better it will be than if we go down with 
somebody to say, 'Well, the world's well rid of him.'

"I thank you for your presence here tonight. I feel grateful toward 
you, and my heart swells with thanksgiving, because you have stood by 
me in my dark days, especially during the past years of my life. I have 
been sustained by your patronage, by your good wishes, by the clasp of 
my friends' hands, wishing me God speed, and God has sped me on. He has 
been my refuge and He has been my helper. May we all be able to say 
when we come down to that last moment: 'It is well.' "

Great applause closed his remarks. Turning to Mr. T. Blair Patton, 
superintendent of the Huntingdon reformatory and a former well known 
Altoonan, Mr. Slep introduced Mr. Patton as the toastmaster as follows:

"Let me introduce to you our toastmaster, Mr. T. B. Patton, who is the 
man who gave me the first newspaper (the Gospel Trumpet) to print in 
Altoona. He is the man who took me by the hand and welcomed me, and 
gave me a healthy start in my business. It is one of the pleasures of 
the evening that he is with us."

Mr. Patton proved a most witty and graceful presiding officer. After 
his introductory remarks, Harry L. Johnston, on behalf of the employes, 
presented Mr. Slep with a basket of American beauties, one for each 
year of the Altoona Mirror's history, and also, on behalf of the board 
of directors, he presented Mr. Slep with a key to the front door of the 
new office.

Members of the Editorial, Repertorial and News Staffs [photo]

First on the program of set speeches came Hon. Thomas J. Baldrige, 
president judge of the Blair county courts, who spoke on "The Press as 
an Aid in the Administration of the Law." He pointed out how the press 
exposed crime and thereby deterred criminals from preying upon the 
public, and how it kept people informed about what we ought to do and 
what we ought not to do from a legal standpoint. Speaking to Mr. Slep 
he closed with this poetic sentiment: "As the sun of your life speeds 
towards the western horizon and disappears beyond yon western mountain 
peaks, I predict that there will be an after-glow of brightness and a 
radiance of glory of your character that will symbolize integrity and 
honor and service to your fellow-man and to your God."

William F. Gable commingled wholesome wit and trenchant truth in 
discussing his subject: "Newspaper Advertising: Does it Pay?" Here is 
one gem:

"As I look at this fine printing plant and the prosperous looking 
proprietor, editors, reporters, printers, business managers and all the 
happy and contented-looking people connected with this establishment, I 
will unhesitatingly answer that question with one word - 'Yes.'"

He paid this tribute to Mr. Slep: "And now let me congratulate you all 
on your great achievement here. A printing plant of modern 
construction, well lighted and heated and with sanitary conditions that 
promote good health, good cheer and good work. A happy and contented 
force of writers and printers, business managers, compositors and 
pressmen, who reward with cheerful and faithful work the many years of 
kindness and good counsel received through the guiding hand and brain 
of their grand old commander, Harry Slep."

W. H. Schwartz, veteran editor of the Altoona Tribune, spoke on 
"Journalistic Observations." Among other things he said: "It used to be 
a saying in regard to the newspaper editor that he had to go to bed 
while his wife washed his shirt, and that the general bill of fare of 
the editor was mackerel and molasses. Those times have long since 
passed and we have an example here tonight of the success that comes to 
all well meaning newspapers."

He congratulated Mr. Slep "upon the well-earned success that has 
attended the efforts of his life."

Herman K. McCauley, then president of the Altoona Chamber of Commerce, 
spoke on "The Chamber of Commerce." In the course of his remarks he 
said:

"Every one of us owes our city some service. We are none of us living 
to himself, selfishly and personally. We should be willing to devote 
some part of our time in our life to the upbuilding of the city and of 
the community of which we are a part. We should be willing to set aside 
our personal business and take at least one evening a month for the 
discussion of such things as pertain to the elevation and to the 
advancement of our city. It seems to be a difficult matter for some 
reason or other to enlist the sympathy, the cooperation, the attendance 
of the number of men that we should really expect to have in a city of 
this size.

"I want to congratulate most heartily our very good friend, Mr. Slep, 
on this achievement of a lifetime, and although he is said to be 75 
years of age he will give any young man in this room tonight a new 
inspiration to energy and industry."

Hon. J. D. Hicks spoke on "The Press of Altoona." Excerpts from his 
address follow: "This is truly the age of the newspaper. By this I mean 
the family newspaper - the newspaper that is the welcome daily guest in 
our homes and at our firesides. How quickly our minds segregate the 
newspapers of the world, and especially those of our own community, and 
select as our favorite the paper that smothers with silence and 
forgetfulness the calamities and the disgraces that overtake the public 
or the obscure person; and that does not flash in black and red 
headlines the despair and woes, the villainies and the crimes and the 
mischief of the underworld. We seek for and maintain the newspaper that 
glories in the joys, the successes and the achievements of men .... The 
good newspaper which I have endeavored to portray to you is exemplified 
in the Altoona Mirror and we rejoice with its founder in its great 
success." 

Battery of Linotype Machines In Composing Room [photo]

Among those who spoke extemporaneously were Hon. D. J. Neff, Julian 
Millard, A. W. Beckman, Plymouth S. Snyder, J. N. Tillard, Fred 
Bendheim and Robert F. Bankert. 

Anniversary Day, June 13, 1912, was celebrated with an issue of thirty-
two pages, giving a history of the life and work of Mr. Slep, and a 
detailed description of the new building and its equipment, together 
with pictures of the officers and other employes and views of the 
various departments. Not the least feature of that anniversary edition 
was the numerous congratulatory letters from representative citizens.

Superintendent of Composing Room, His Assistants and Linotype Operators 
[photo]

COMMODIOUS as the new home of the Altoona Mirror was when first 
occupied, the president of the company could foresee the time when it 
also would be outgrown, as all the previous homes had been outgrown. A 
plot of ground in the rear, 38 by 50 feet, had been reserved for just 
such a contingency. 

While expanding business had crowded all departments Mr. Slep would not 
hear to building operations during the World war. He felt that the 
government had first call on the services of the people and it would 
not be right to promote his private interests under the circumstances.

But after the armistice was signed, he thought it was time to proceed 
with the needed improvements. Plans were drawn for the extension of the 
original building to the alley in the rear. Ground was broken June 1, 
1919, and the annex completed a year later.

The addition conforms to the original building in both architectural 
design and construction methods. Steel, concrete and bricks make it as 
nearly fireproof as possible.

The first floor of the annex is given over to the press room. Here the 
mammoth new press is located. In one corner of the room is the 
electrical switchboard, the largest in Altoona outside of the railroad 
and electrical companies. It contains three panels, with the power, 
heating and lighting all separated. 

What was formerly the old sterotyping room has been combined with the 
distributing room, enabling the superintendent of distribution to 
handle the newsboys to much better advantage. The old press room, in 
the rear of the business office, will become part of the executive 
offices of the company. When this change is made the first floor will 
be taken up entirely with the executive and general business offices, 
the distributing room and the press room.

On the second floor of the annex is the stereotyping department and an 
extension of the composing room. The ad alley, that is to say, the 
division which prepares the advertisements for the newspaper, has been 
moved into these quarters. In the stereotyping division, which is 
separated from the remainder of the room by brick and glass partitions, 
the forms are cast for the press and cuts are cast for the paper. It is 
equipped with a six-ton metal pot, with double casting box, shavers, 
routers, planers, saw, etc. Over the furnace has been placed a large 
hood, which, with the aid of an electric fan, carries off the fumes 
from the molten metal.

The third floor of the annex is being reserved for the installation of 
an engraving department in the near future. At the present time there 
is no engraving plant in Altoona. In order to have cuts made from 
photographs or drawings, the copy must be sent out of town. Altoona 
needs a good engraving department and the Altoona Mirror intends to 
meet this need when profitable to the plant.

The cellar of the building is used for storing newsprint and is large 
enough to accommodate six or seven carloads.

With the completion of the addition and the general shifting of the 
forces room for further development has been provided, but meanwhile 
the daily tasks can be performed with greater dispatch and to better 
advantage.

Some facts in Mr. Slep's life that have not been heretofore covered in 
this modest sketch were revealed in a speech which he delivered at a 
banquet of employes of the Altoona Mirror and their wives held at 
Caum's cafe on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 20, 1917.

That banquet was held to celebrate three anniversaries - the 81st 
birthday of Mr. Slep on Oct. 24, 1912; the 45th birthday of Daniel N. 
Slep, director of the company, on Oct. 20, 1912, and the founding of 
the Mirror Printing House, forerunner of the Mirror Printing company, 
Oct. 21, 1872.

Ad Alley, Located in New Addition to Mirror Building [photo]

Following the dinner came the toasts. "Birthday Reminiscences" was the 
subject of Daniel N. Slep's address. He had grown up in his father's 
printing offices and he told of the early trials and struggles. 

Other speeches were made by F. M. Hetrick, circulation manager; Samuel 
S. Schmittle, then the advertising manager; E. J. Slep, director, and 
superintendent of the composing room; Elmer C. Ake, city editor; Alonza 
Spencer, foreman of the job department; Roy Raichle, pressman; Harry E. 
Slep, foreman of the composing room; A. J. Holtzinger, assistant 
circulation manager; D. L. Potter, business manager; Miss Ada Reynolds, 
cashier; Oscar A. Nelson, pressman, and Rev. Dr. H. H. Stiles, pastor 
of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Slep.

The sentiments expressed by the speakers breathed loyalty to Mr. Slep 
and The Mirror and expressed the composite hope that he may live many 
years to enjoy the fruits of his labors. They were congratulatory also 
to Daniel N. Slep.

Inspiring and helpful was the address of Mr. Slep, which brought a 
happy evening to a close. His subject was "The Realization of a Dream - 
A Glance Backward and a Vision of the Future." He said:

"Tonight I want to talk from memory. I want to go over the past years 
through which I have passed in order to reach the point I set for 
myself to attain when I was a boy of only 12 years, and even before 
that - before I left the old country for the new.

"I came over to this country to escape the hardships that, as a child, 
I saw there. As I left the old country and the school I was attending, 
the schoolmaster said:

"'My boy, you are at the head of the class, don't get down to the 
bottom. Keep up your reading by all means. Try to learn and to talk the 
language that is in use in America.'

"I said, 'Yes, sir.'

"He was a man of whom Professor G. D. Robb reminds me. He was a great, 
tall, stout man and had a hand about so big (indicating with his own). 
He never used the rule, but he used his hand and we got (making a 
sweeping stroke with his hand).

"But I didn't cease my reading or studying when I got to my trade. I 
studied the primer of the English language. I learned my trade in a 
German office from 1848 and 1854. We had no electric lights then, but 
we had little candles and I would take my candle - and I had to buy it, 
too - into the loft where I slept and study the English language. What 
do you do? Do you go to the movies every night? Do you stand on the 
corners? Do you run the streets? Or are you trying to make of yourself 
a man, strong and able to tussle with this world of many troubles? I 
want to ask these questions of the young men, my young men, the 
apprentices particularly, because of the advantages you have to get an 
education in the night schools. If you are spending your time 
uselessly, carelessly, foolishly, stop, take advantage of the night 
schools open to all. The Mirror will pay your tuition, if it is 
necessary.

"But I will go back now to the time when I was learning my trade. I had 
already spent six months at sweeping, washing the rollers and pushing 
the rollers over the press. I made up my mind then to own a printing 
office some day. An old gentleman by the name of Gilbert, the father of 
the district attorney of Dauphin county, used to twit me, saying:

"'My boy, you are dreaming. How will you own a printing office? Do you 
know how much it costs to buy machinery?'

"'No, I don't,' I said, 'but I am going to have one.'

"'How will you have one?'

"'By being a good printer when I get through with my apprenticeship.'

"'Well, that's a good thing; keep on,' he said.

"I did keep on and I passed from my apprenticeship, studying the 
English language all the time, and although I was a 'Dutch' printer, I 
was an English printer also. I had an object in view - that some day I 
would have a printing shop, never expecting one like I have now, or we 
have now, but that was the object that was always before me and by 
night and by day I would strive to get the education that I needed. I 
never went to school after I left Germany. I never went to an English 
school, but I learned English by putting my time to good use. You may 
never have the desire to become a boss printer, but if you are an 
educated printer, you will always have a situation.

Men Who Set Up the Advertisements In the Altoona Mirror [photo]

"In 1872 I succeeded in gathering together a little press; a box of 
type and a table to make up the forms and in October 21, 1872, the day 
after this boy (D. N. Slep) came to us, I turned out the first job, and 
what do you think it was? It wasn't a dun for my church; it was a dun 
from the Temple of Honor stating: 'Mr. Smith, you are back in your dues 
for so much. Please attend to this at once,' and I thought to myself: 
'Well, if you are going to belong to that society, you will have to 
keep up with your dues' and I have always tried to do that.

"In the next two years I was persuaded to go into the newspaper 
business. I hesitated; I had no money laid by to go into the business 
and I knew it took money to buy machinery, but a friend promised to see 
about the finances. On the 13th of June, 1874, we started the Evening 
Mirror. It was a four column, four page paper and sold for one cent a 
copy. The other paper was charging 3 cents a copy. I enlarged the 
Mirror to six columns and raised mine to 2 cents.

"During the railroad strike I was hoodoed and boycotted. The paper fell 
from about 1,600 copies to so low a degree it wouldn't even buy white 
paper and I gave The Mirror away to two lawyers and I have the money 
coming to me, but I saved my job office.

"You young men here present who want to be in the printing business; or 
any other business, do you think you can spend your time idly? I know 
all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy, but the dull boy will 
stay if there is all play and no work. And what wonderful opportunities 
you have now to educate yourself! The schools are thrown open to all 
and if you have to work to help support the family, you can attend a 
night school and make men of yourselves. If you have an education, you 
will never be out of work.

"As far as I am concerned, I was never out of employment except when I 
worked for the state on a German school report. When that was finished 
they had no more use for a German printer and I went to Baltimore to 
work on The Sun, so that there were only about two weeks that I was out 
of a good, paying job.

"Now, I think that the dream or dreams I had, or the ideal point I 
wished to arrive at, I attained, as you all know who have been with us 
a good many years. You may say those were castles in the air, and they 
were to a certain extent, but castles in the air can be made 
substantial. They are not castles in the air like the balloons sent up 
on the Fourth of July, which in time go out and there is nothing more 
of them.

"If you have dreamed anything, if there is a position you want, you can 
aspire to it if the Lord gives you help and strength. My success 
depended on the great goodness and the help of the Lord. Don't forget 
Him in all your studies. He is your greatest friend and helps you out 
of every difficulty.

"I was reading the other day and I want to close with Gladstone's 
advice. I don't suppose that many of you have read Gladstone's 
writings, but this is one of them that I wish to impress upon your 
minds, if you forget everything else I have said tonight:

"'Get knowledge all you can, and the more you get the more you breathe 
upon its nearer heights their invigorating air and enjoy the widening 
prospect, the more you will know and feel how small is the elevation 
you have reached in comparison with the immeasurable altitudes that yet 
remain unscaled.' 

"My dear friends, after the war is over, the first question asked when 
you apply for a position will be: 'Are you a High school graduate? Have 
you gone through the schools? How much education have you?' You must 
have that. In the past we took any boy if he could just read. Now you 
must know how to read, spell and have a knowledge of grammar at least 
to know whether the sentence you are setting up agrees with the meaning 
of the writer. The higher your education, the higher your position will 
be; and the more you study, the easier it will be to attain this 
position and you will never be out of a situation. 

"May the Lord help you to rise above the troubles you may meet in this 
world."

Matrix Roller and Electric Driers [photo]

PERHAPS nothing so admirably evidences the amazing development of the 
publishing business during the past generation as the evolution of the 
presses on which the Altoona Mirror has been printed. 

The original press was a hand-fed Cottrel & Babcock, with a cylinder 
like a miniature roundhouse, and operated by manpower. It was succeeded 
by a double-cylinder Hoe.

When the Altoona Mirror took possession of the building at 1000 
Eleventh avenue, in March, 1900, a Cox-Duplex was installed. All these 
presses printed from the type and were limited as to speed and 
capacity.

Three years later a Goss Perfecting press was purchased, and with it a 
stereotyping outfit. This machine could print twenty pages at one time 
and had a speed of 12,000 an hour. It was considered a marvel. Also, it 
rendered obsolete the practice of printing from the type and 
substituted therefor the semi-circular form cast from molten metal. The 
late W. H. Slep watched this press running one afternoon and remarked:

"I hope we are through buying presses now." And it did seem as if 
another one would not be needed for years and years. Yet in a decade 
the advertising patronage and an extending circle of readers compelled 
the company to invest in a press of still greater capacity and speed.

So a Goss Quad Straightline Perfecting press was ordered and in due 
season set up in the office that was just then being made ready for 
occupancy at 1000 Green avenue. It could print thirty-two pages at one 
time, and its output was 24,000 sixteen page newspapers an hour. 
Standing four decks high, it was really four presses in one. Surely 
this machine was sufficient to meet all demands for an indefinite 
period! 

But in eight years it has outlived its usefulness to the Altoona Mirror 
and the new Goss Sextuple was purchased.

The installation of this marvelous and intricate piece of machinery 
required several weeks. It printed its first Altoona Mirror on May 24, 
1920, and there was not a single hitch in running off the three 
editions on that day. It has been operated ever since without trouble, 
indicating perfection in construction. 

The Goss Sextuple is really six presses in one. Forty-eight pages can 
be printed at one time. The running speed is 72,000 twelve page papers 
or less per hour; 36,000 fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-
two or twenty-four page papers an hour, and 18,000 twenty-eight to 
forty-eight page papers an hour.

No newspaper anywhere has any better press. It represents the last word 
in press construction. 

The press is driven by a chain drive, and there is a silent drive which 
can be applied to any deck, operating it independently of the other 
decks. All told the big machine weighs about seventy-five tons and 
stands on a specially built foundation of concrete and steel.

With the press there is a complete set of machinery for making 
stereotyped plates rapidly and efficiently. Everything has been 
provided to reduce time and increase production.

A control system makes it perfectly safe for the pressman to work at 
any point, for, when he presses the safety button nearest him, the 
press cannot be started from any other station. It is possible, by 
pressing a button, to move the cylinders a fraction of an inch. Another 
button starts the press on slow motion and by touching a third button 
repeatedly the speed is gradually increased until full speed is 
attained. The speed is decreased in the same manner.

Connected with the new press is a dispatch conveyor which conveys the 
Mirrors from the press to the distributing room as fast as they are 
printed. At the folder it makes a right angle turn, which is difficult 
to construct, and has a run of forty-five feet. This conveyor is a very 
convenient labor-saving device. 

In the fall of 1919 the Altoona Mirror was changed from a seven to an 
eight-column-to-a-page newspaper. When the new Goss Sextuple was placed 
in operation the appearance of the newspaper was again changed by 
increasing the length of the columns one inch, making them twenty-one 
inches long instead of twenty, which gives the page a better 
proportion.

View of the Stereotyping Department [photo]

CIRCULATION is the business barometer of a newspaper. The journal with 
a large circulation invaribly is favored with a large advertising 
patronage, is a powerful influence in the community and enjoys the 
esteem of the public.

The Altoona Mirror is known as the People's Paper because it is so 
widely read. Its increases in circulation have been healthy and 
substantial, averaging over 700 new subscribers a year during the past 
twenty-five years.

This circulation was not purchased. Mr. Slep was always opposed to 
giving premiums of any sort as a special inducement to subscribe for 
the paper. He preferred to put all his money into the improvement of 
the newspaper and the facilities for printing it, and the soundness of 
this policy has been amply proven. 

Also, he has always insisted upon giving preference to home news, 
believing that the average reader would sooner be informed of what his 
neighbors were doing and saying than read about what was transpiring in 
China or Australia. As usual, his judgment was good.

Nor did he ever run much to features, unless they were the product of 
the members of the Altoona Mirror's own staff. He wanted, and still 
wants, his newspaper to print substantial matter - current news, 
educational and informing miscellaneous articles, conservative and 
thoughtful editorials.

And then, too, he has always stood for a square deal for all. The 
humblest citizen has ever received the same courtesy and consideration 
as the most influential. The welfare of the city as a whole came first 
and the individual second. Service has been his watchword.

That a strict adherence to these principles has won him a goodly 
measure of success is attested by the following figures of the daily 
averages by years which were taken from the sworn statements in the 
files of the office:

1895 4,009    1908 11,390
1896 4,667    1909 12,032
1897 4,809    1910 13,215
1898 5,506    1911 13,451
1899 5,938    1912 14,113
1900 6,513    1913 15,886
1901 7,074    1914 17,731
1902 7,587    1915 18,509
1903 8,187    1916 19,838
1904 8,825    1917 18,799
1905 10,024   1918 22,271
1906 11,041   1919 22,496
1907 11,480   1920 22,945 (five months)

It may be interesting to know just how many copies of the Altoona 
Mirror are sold in Altoona. The circulation manager has prepared a 
statement which shows that the average daily circulation in the city is 
14,204, distributed as follows

Altoona Mirror carriers 8,811 
News dealers 863 
Street sales 3,910 
Sold over the counter 27 
Independent carriers 593 

Total 14,204

View of New Goss Sextuple Press Taken From Rear [photo]

THE NEW ANNEX to the Mirror building was dedicated with appropriate 
exercises on the evening of June 14, 1920, the day following the 
Altoona Mirror's forty-sixth anniversary.

The guests, who included the patrons and employes of the Altoona 
Mirror, together with personal friends of President Harry Slep, 
numbering some 200 in all, assembled at 7 o'clock.

After paying their respects to Mr. Slep and registering, they were 
escorted through the addition, shown the new Goss Sextuple press and 
other recently installed equipment, and then passed on to the third 
floor, where the banquet was served.

When cigars were lighted, Mr. T. B. Patton, of Huntingdon, was 
introduced as toastmaster. Expressing his pleasure at being again 
called upon to officiate at the re-dedicatory ceremonies, he said of 
Mr. Slep: 

"I am sure that on this auspicious occasion there is much he will 
remember in looking back into the past, some of which perhaps may bring 
a shadow to his heart, and on the other hand, when he remembers how he 
was so wonderfully blessed in paving the way to touch the many hearts 
and homes in this community through his excellent newspaper, I cannot 
help but think that the experiences of the past have brought joy and 
rejoicing to him, and, having reached the pinnacle of fame, it seems to 
me there must be a measure of satisfaction as he looks boldly out into 
the future and fears no ill it may bring to him."

Judge Thomas J. Baldrige was the first speaker and his subject was "The 
Law and the Press." He first emphasized the responsibilities that rest 
with the men who publish newspapers and write for the press, and then 
showed that they mould public opinion on which the laws are based. 
Turning to Mr. Slep in closing he said:

"I want to extend to you my heartiest congratulations, and, as you are 
still a young man, may I express the hope that we may all gather here 
in the future and see this plant even larger than it already is and 
exerting a greater power than it does at the present time, which is 
saying a great deal?"

Discussing "The Value of Newspaper Advertising," Mal H. Neuwahl, 
manager of Simon's Shoe Store, said that as a boy he carried the 
Altoona Mirror, later wrote advertising copy for the same paper and now 
sends it a check each month for the firm's advertisements. In the 
course of his remarks he said: 

"Without doubt, the daily newspaper is the only advertising medium 
which has become a routine necessity. To the retail merchant who must 
turn his stock quickly and therefore make known its fluctuating values 
to the buying public, the daily newspaper is unquestionably the most 
valuable means for this communication."

In conclusion he said:

"I cannot close without some reference to the esteemed founder of The 
Mirror to whose courage in starting, forty-seven years ago, a fourth 
newspaper in Blair county the development of the present flourishing 
organization is due. I wish to liken him to our very beloved Benjamin 
Franklin, who in 1728 started the fourth newspaper in this entire 
United States. His prospective mother-in-law objected to him on this 
very ground, claiming he was entering an already overcrowded field. It 
is interesting to note that the paper he then established, nearly 200 
years ago, has developed into our most widely read national weekly, the 
Saturday Evening Post.

"May our own Altoona Mirror have as creditable an evolution and reflect 
as worthy a history on its venerable founder and president, Harry Slep, 
whom we hope to see in good health at the helm for many years to come."

In his remarks on "The Press," W. H. Schwartz, editor of the Altoona 
Times Tribune, declared that the great American press was never more 
independent than it is today. Of the host and his life work, Mr. 
Schwartz said:

Folder, Counter and Conveyor Attached to New Goss Press [photo]

"I esteem it a very high honor and great privilege to be the guest of 
the Mirror Printing Company on this occasion, and to be able to 
congratulate my friend, Harry Slep, whom I have known since he came to 
Altoona in 1872.

"The Mirror has every reason to feel proud and happy on this the forty-
sixth anniversary of their establishment, almost half a century since 
our venerable but still active young friend, Mr. Slep, began in a very 
modest way the job printing enterprise which soon began to expand and 
which has grown during the passing years into the superb plant we now 
behold; a plant which is the best possible monument to the energy, the 
sagacity and the wisdom of its founder, a monument erected during his 
lifetime and largely by his own efforts.

"I am sure we all participate in some measure in the happiness which 
has been the logical result of his well ordered life, and we anticipate 
for him a richer reward in the invisible country than is his portion 
here, although he is and has been surrounded by hosts of friends who 
delight to do him reverence. We all hope he will be permitted to spend 
many additional years with his family and his friends. In the meantime 
we congratulate him and all his helpers on the truly splendid results 
of their labors." 

H. Gordon Hinkle, Altoona's first city manager, responded to the toast, 
"Our City." Among other things he said:

"The city of Altoona might take the example of the Altoona Mirror in 
its progress during its forty-six years, and how it has grown into this 
beautiful structure in which to house this plant. The Mirror is going 
to leave Altoona behind if we don't waken up and pull together for all 
that makes for a beautiful, an attractive and a desirable town.

"I want to see every citizen of Altoona get the unselfish viewpoint of 
making Altoona a bigger and a better city in which to live and emulate 
The Mirror in looking ahead. This building may not be utilized to its 
capacity for several years to come. When The Mirror Company built the 
present home eight years ago I presume they thought it was ample enough 
to meet the needs for many more years than the eight. Now they find it 
necessary to almost double the size.

"So in closing I wish to extend to Mr. Slep, and the staff of the 
Altoona Mirror the congratulations of this city on their progress, 
their enterprise and their growth and to wish Mr. Slep and The Mirror 
Company many more years of like growth and like development."

Hon. J. D. Hicks, in his speech on "My Journalistic Friends," gave his 
idea of a good newspaper, referred to the early days of The Mirror and 
spoke of its usefulness to the community. Excerpts follow: 

"Altoona's best newspaper's wonderful success is an illustration of, 
first, attention to business; second, integrity in business; third, 
square dealing in business. The application of these three principles 
bring their reward.

"Altoona city, and I may say the county of Blair, honor today as the 
only living pioneer newspaperman of our city, the venerable proprietor 
of The Mirror, Mr. Harry Slep. I echo the sentiment not only of this 
audience, but of all our people, when I say, long may our friend live 
to enjoy the honor of his successful achievement."

J. N. Tillard, chief of police of Altoona, answered the question, "Are 
Newspapers Useful in Apprehending Criminals and Diminishing Crime?" He 
said that they can do both sometimes by what they suppress rather than 
by what they print. He pointed out that criminals are close readers of 
the newspapers to familiarize themselves with any changes in police 
conditions that might be to their advantage, and in one instance a man 
has been known to cross the continent to commit a crime as the result 
of casual information derived from a press dispatch. However, Chief 
Tillard said:

"Newspapers are of invaluable assistance to peace officers in the 
advertisement of certain stolen goods such as automobiles, as they 
reach the public in general in a way that police flyers cannot do.

Mammoth Switchboard New Press Room [photo]

"The papers can always materially help in the suppression of crime and 
the apprehension of criminals by working in harmony with public 
authorities. By taking counsel together, the reporter and the policeman 
can do much to deter the criminal, though their best efforts will 
frequently fail because of the shrewdness of those who live in crime."

F. Woods Beckman, president of the Altoona Chamber of Commerce, spoke 
on "Altoona's Future." Disclaiming any gift of prophesy, he contended 
that Altoona's future depends entirely upon the people themselves. He 
thought a city plan would be a great benefit to the city's development 
in many ways. He urged looking ahead and planning and preparing for 
years to come. He closed with these remarks: 

"We have just been through this building, which shows as somebody 
already has said, that there are some who look ahead, who have the 
vision and who dare do things. We have also examined that wonderful 
printing press which can do things that it is hard for me to 
understand. That shows that these individuals who established it, and 
Mr. Slep, president of The Mirror Company, had a vision and had courage 
and faith in Altoona's and Blair county's future. Shall we not as 
citizens, and many of us still young, have equally large faith in our 
city's future and help to plan for the entire city so that it will be 
able to emulate the example that has been set by the Altoona Mirror."

The concluding address of the evening was made by the host, Mr. Harry 
Slep. Notwithstanding his 83 years, he spoke extemporaneously, and from 
the heart. The full text of his speech is given:

"Our dear friends, I am not going to make a speech. It won't take me 
more than five minutes, the allotted time, to close the ceremonies 
because it is getting late and some of us are getting restless, but not 
quite as much so as the industrial world is today.

"I want to say a few words to our merchants, our advertisers, who have 
so splendidly helped us to attain our business growth. A gentleman said 
to me the other day, 'Slep, where did you get all the money that it 
must have taken to make all these improvements? I guess the business 
men must be very generous to enable you to establish a business such as 
your paper proves.'

"I was a little stunned for a while as to how I should make answer, but 
I will make my answer here and you will all know where we got the 
money. It was not the merchants only, it was not the subscribers only, 
but it was the manner of conducting the business economically, 
carefully, never buying anything we couldn't pay for, and reaching out 
after bills that we could discount, which was profit. We walked 
carefully and I will guarantee you I never missed coming to the office 
when I was well enough and I thank the Lord I never had any serious 
ailment.

"I walked with my men as though they were my own brothers. I encouraged 
them to be economical, to be saving. I got the best men and the best 
mechanics I could find and I treated them just as they were capable of 
appreciating, and I had good results from my men, every one of them. If 
we didn't get the results we asked for we got rid of them and got 
better men. If you want to make money and if you are making money, 
please don't spend it all; put it away for a day when you need a little 
cash.

"There is something else that is important - that is, paying your bills 
promptly, and in so doing you are making character that helps you with 
every dealer with whom you come in contact. When we started our little 
job office, my son, William, and myself, we never permitted our 
expenditures to exceed our receipts if we possibly could help it, and 
we did help it. We never got into what they call 'a hole'- as some 
people do by spending everything they make.

"My dear merchants, watch your employes. Don't drive them, don't expect 
them to do what you do not know how to do yourself. Watch your 
customers and see that they pay promptly, just the same as we do. 
Sometimes they don't take it very good naturedly; but we must have cash 
and have no losses to disturb our slumbers. If we have the cash in hand 
we can spend it as we need it or we can save it for the needs to come.

Employes of the Press and Stereotyping Departments [photo]

"There is another thing, and that is strict attention to business. 
Don't be afraid to put on your working clothes and go among your 
working men. If you have one who is dilatory, perhaps a few words will 
bring him up to the standard. There is nothing so wasteful as an 
employe who does not render the services for which you pay.

"That is all I have to say, except that we are going to be more strict 
hereafter in collecting our debts and not let them go from month to 
month. The subscriber knows that if he doesn't pay his 40 cents a month 
for two months he doesn't get The Mirror, because he doesn't 
appreciate, as we think, The Mirror enough to pay what he owes the 
publisher.

"I want to talk to my employes a moment. If you want to hold your 
positions don't stop at the knowledge of a little smattering of the 
printing trade. There are such elegant and such instructive and such 
readable articles along the printer's line that you should study 
instead of reading 'Dick the Highwayman.' Go to your room and read good 
periodicals or come to the office and we will furnish them to you. They 
will help you rise in your business. Don't be slothful, but be up to 
the mark and maybe some day you will be able to build a home like this. 
At least, you will never regret any knowledge that you can get about 
your trade, whether you are a printer, a carpenter, a bricklayer or a 
machinist. If you read the instructive publications of your trade and 
profit by your reading, you will rise to the top and command respect 
and will never be out of a situation if you are a thorough mechanic in 
your line. 

"Don't waste your time. I have put in fifteen hours a day for several 
years. Why? Because I had to do so to make the business. You cannot 
expect to make business and fold your hands and say: 'John, you go do 
this, Pete you go do that.' If you see he is busy about his work, save 
his time and increase your value by doing it yourself. That is the way 
to do business. That is the reason we were able to lay by a good nest 
egg so that when we wanted the money John Lloyd was ready to furnish 
it.

"As I said in the beginning, my heart is full of gratitude for the many 
friends of The Mirror in the city of Altoona and the business zone 
around us.

"In a week or ten days we will have our correspondents and many agents 
of The Mirror, our carriers who carry faithfully through sunshine and 
storm, gathered here together to inspect our plant and enjoy a dinner 
with us. If you gentlemen want to make money, don't be selfish and 
don't be a cad, and if you live as long as I have lived you will 
realize that the only way to really live is to live right and serve the 
Lord and the public."

Rev. Dr. H. H. Stiles, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, 
offered this prayer in closing the re-dedicatory exercises:

"'Oh, Thou Eternal One, whose presence bright all space doth occupy, 
all motion guide; through time's all devastating flight, Thou only God, 
there is no God beside.'

"On this happy occasion we return heartfelt thanks to Thee, oh Jehovah, 
for the manifestations of Thy grace, here and elsewhere, bestowed upon 
the labors of Thy servants. We rejoice in the prosperity which they 
have enjoyed in the prosecution of their labors, and the more so, that 
they have endeavored to obey Thy precepts diligently.

"We rejoice in, and thank Thee for, the success achieved by Thy 
venerable servant in the work so humbly begun here, years ago. With 
affection we gaze upon his patriarchal countenance; with profit we 
listen to the inspirational words flowing from the abundant resources 
of his ripe experience; with quickened interest we observe his sons and 
his assistants, sharers in the fruits of his labors and in the 
achievements which we celebrate.

View of the Job Printing Department [photo]

"Now, oh God, we pray Thee to extend Thy Fatherly hands in gracious 
benediction upon Thine ageing servant, granting that he may continue in 
that undisturbed serenity and that spiritual tranquility which have 
graciously characterized his life; yea, even as a beauteous star 
proceeding serenely down the western slope of the all-encompassing 
firmament, the light of which shall remain an impelling inspiration to 
younger men to follow the pathway of industry and of righteousness, and 
in daily life to exemplify the principles of God's revealed Word. Now 
unto Him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us 
faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; to the 
only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and honor, dominion and majesty, 
both now and always, Amen."

Following the re-dedication of the Mirror Printing Company's completed 
home, Mr. Slep invited the agents, carriers and correspondents of the 
paper to be his guests on June 23, 1920.

A banquet was served in the same room in which the re-dedicatory 
ceremonies were held. Agents and correspondents representing 150 points 
within the Altoona trading zone and eighty-five carriers were present. 
The wives of a number of the employes were also in attendance.

Before being seated, Mr. Slep led in prayer, invoking divine blessing 
on all present. At the conclusion of the feast he delivered a short 
address to the carriers, in the course of which he said:

"I welcome you all, ladies and gentlemen, to this newly built festal 
hall. We don't propose to have this (referring to the banquet) every 
day, you know, but we are very glad - the directors, the officers and 
stockholders of the Altoona Mirror - to have you with us on this great 
occasion. We had the advertisers and employes with us on Monday 
evening, June 14. Today we wanted to have with us our correspondents, 
agents and carriers - the faithful little newsboys who travel through 
storm, rain, heat and cold.

"My address shall be very short. I wish to thank you (addressing the 
carriers) for your efficient work during the year. The winter has been 
very wet, windy, cold and the streets in some places muddy and still 
you have continued to faithfully deliver The Mirror to its thousands of 
subscribers. I thank you that so few complaints reach us through the 
subscribers - so few that it is really astonishing that almost 100 
carriers of The Mirror could serve so well. We are glad you have given 
such good service. Keep at it, boys. I was a newsboy myself in 18- 
(well, I won't say now), and I carried the Vaderlands Wachter in - 
Harrisburg. I, too, had to carry through snowy weather and rainy 
weather in Harrisburg, which was then nothing but a mudtown, but which 
now is so beautifully paved and so easy for the carriers to get from 
one end of the city to the other without going through mud as formerly.

"Please remember this: That as a boy grows in business (and newspaper 
carrying is a business, a good business, for it leads up to a higher 
point), if he is faithful in the little situation that he holds now, he 
will some day occupy, perhaps not the president's chair - I hope you 
won't, for it is too bothersome - but occupy situations of profit and 
of honor. I say, be honest with yourself, with those who have engaged 
you and you will grow up to be a practical business man.

"One thing I wish to impress on your minds, and that is that the 
newsboy who is punctual, who goes through wind and storm, can grow up 
to be a good business man. I could show you dozens of letters from the 
boys who carried The Mirror when we were up on Eleventh avenue in what 
used to be called Bowman's corner, now the Goldschmid building, and in 
their letters they have stated that it was while carrying The Mirror 
they experienced their first desire to move upward in society, in 
education and in business and they have succeeded. Some of them are 
doctors; others are men in large stores occupying prominent positions.

"So, I say, be careful in your youthful days, grow up to be honest and 
persevering and in due time this part of your body (pointing to the 
head), which wants to be fed with good common sense, will demand a 
situation for you in after days.

Employes of the Job Printing Department [photo]

"One thing more: I want to announce to you that all who are faithful, 
against whom there are no complaints, except trivial complaints, from 
now until Oct. 1, your wages will be increased, and you will be paid 
according to the number of copies of The Mirror you have to carry under 
your arm." 

F. M. Hetrick, circulation manager, then spoke to the agents and Harry 
L. Johnston, managing editor, spoke to the correspondents. Their 
remarks consisted chiefly of helpful suggestions on how to serve the 
public better, how to get more news and how to present it to readers 
clearly and concisely.

June 23 was Altoona Mirror day at the Kiwanis club, and Mr. Slep 
extended an invitation to the members of that livewire organization to 
take their weekly lunch at The Mirror office with the agents, carriers 
and correspondents. Upwards of 100 of them were present.

After the addresses to The Mirror employes, the agents, carriers and 
correspondents retired and the meeting was turned over to the 
Kiwanians, who requested that the ladies remain.

W. S. Aaron, vice president of the club, assumed the chair. Upon motion 
of M. P. Neighbor, manager of the Altoona Chamber of Commerce, a vote 
of thanks was extended the Mirror Printing Company for the 
entertainment of the day.

Mr. Aaron, in opening the meeting, said that if Ponce de Leon, who came 
to this country seeking the fountain of youth, had met Mr. Slep in his 
travels he might have learned the secret. He paid a glowing tribute to 
Mr. Slep, whom, he said, was not a visionary man, but was animated by 
the right ideals and stood for high principles. He thought that it 
would be a good thing for the country as a whole at the present time if 
it would turn to such men to lead it back to the paths of safety.

J. G. Humes, vice president of the Mirror Printing Company, formally 
welcomed the Kiwanians. 

Mr. Slep then followed in a brief speech. He regretted that he was 
unable to attend the club's meetings, but commended the work the club 
is doing. He advised them to "stick together; don't throw bricks at one 
another, but rather to remove the obstacles in the way of friendship." 
He concluded as follows: 

"Let us have the patience to endure, not trusting entirely to our own 
ability, but to that of the Higher Power to lead us. I thank you again 
for your attendance today. I want to assure you that I would like to 
live a few more years to enjoy that which the help of the merchants and 
subscribers of The Mirror has enabled me to accomplish."

The meeting closed with three rousing cheers and a tiger for Mr. Slep. 

Group of Altoona Mirror's Hustling Regular Carriers - June, 1920 
[photo]

ROSTER of EMPLOYES 

Business, Advertising, Circulation Accounts Departments

J. G. Humes           Teresa Myers
David L. Potter       Mildred Shuss
Francis M. Hetrick    Sara France
Fred G. Pearce        Almeda Ehredt
Ada E. Reynolds       Viola O'Donnell
Albert J. Holtzinger  Richard E. Beeler
Charles A. Greer      Holmes M. Nale
Leland E. Roundsley   Carl A. Barger
Ella Allen            Harold E. Miller

News Department

Edward J. Slep        Lee R. Stull
Harry E. Slep         Ernest W. Brookbank
Harry DeGabrielle     Albert J. Ruth
C. Foster Grazier     William E. Cox
G. Edmund Brehman     Oscar J. Humbert
Samuel R. Miller      Thomas V. Bowen
Nevin J. Wagner       W. Clyde Huston
J. Joseph Mentzer     Roy E. Boslet
William E. Patterson  Charles E. Bollinger
William M. DeArment   Walter W. Yon
W. Edwin Malone       Arthur G. Walter
John H. Fox           Clair E. Boslet
Earl Myers            Malcolm Baird

Editorial Department

Harry L. Johnston     J. Edward Benney
Elmer C. Ake          Hilda D. Howard
R. Max Lewis          Gertrude M. Bunker
Jesse C. Sell         Margaret E. Downing
Herman S. Reifsnyder  Helen Warner
Frank B. White        Hazel E. Dell
D. Elmer Sell

Press and Stereotyping Departments

D. Oscar Nelson 
Roy E. Raichle 
Charles Love 
Charles F. Flower 
John Smith 
Allen Kay 
Carl Duganne 
Henry Curran

Job Department

Alonza Spencer 
Charles F. Skelly 
Homer Mentzer 
John H. Wood 
Edward W. Schettig 
Earl Miller 
Godfrey Wohlbruck 
Howard Kensinger 
William Weigley

Janitors

John G. Wood 
Mr. Carney 
Mr. Grazier

List of Carriers that Deliver the Altoona Mirror

1 Smithmyer, Earl, 1516 Third Street
2 Freet, Milton, 817 Crawford Avenue
3 Hill, John M., 1708 Fourth Street
4 Whittaker, Robert, 1110 Sixteenth Avenue
5 Frum, Robert, 904 Sixteenth Avenue
6 Harris, Leonard, 426 Sixth Avenue
7 Allison, H. Brinton, 1120 Seventeenth Avenue
8 Burkhart, John, 1419 Twenty-fifth Avenue
9 Fogle, Regis, 2028 Eleventh Avenue
10 Smithmyer, Harry, 1802 Fourteenth Avenue
11 Graham, Donald, 1915 Fourteenth Avenue
12 Smith, Raymond, 1436 Thirteenth Avenue
13 Lingenfelter, Lynwood, 1306 Sixth Avenue
14 Stange, Charles, 1527 Fourth Avenue
15 Riley, Russell, 1016 Fourth Avenue
16 Buchanan, Leroy, 1006 Seventh Avenue
17 Krepps, George, 810 First Avenue
18 Todd, Myron, 528 Second Avenue
19 Hostler, Alvin, 815 Crawford Avenue
20 Moore, Frank, 713 Sixth Avenue
21 Benton, James, 207 First Avenue
22 Sisler, Donald, 119 East Fourth Avenue
23 Fleck, Donald, 101 East Crawford Avenue
24 Bressler, Ralph, 712 Twenty-second Street
25 Mohler, Russell, 2121 Third Avenue
26 Fowler, Edward, 206 East Third Avenue
27 Shingler, Charles, 120 Fifth Avenue
28 Todd, Byran, 528 Fifth Avenue
29 Barr, George, 2515 Fourth Avenue
30 Wharton, Paul, 922 First Avenue
31 Dixon, Lawrence, 2403 West Chestnut Avenue
32 Baker, Edwin, 1313 Eighth Street
33 McGreger, Kenneth, 513 East Street
34 Feeney, Clements, 2404 West Chestnut Avenue
35 Whitmen, Alvin, 920 Second Avenue
36 Whitmer, Herman, 922 Second Avenue
37 Lindsey, Merrill, 1113 Twenty-first Avenue
38 Gorman, Ray, 112 East Walton Avenue
39 Barnett, Fred, 714 Lexington Avenue
40 Lindsey, Eugene, 113 Twenty-first Avenue
41 Fleck, Duane, 316 Willow Avenue
42 Hess, Lawrence, 422 Cherry Avenue
43 Fleck, Ray, 316 Willow Avenue
44 Hill, J. Levan, 224 Cherry Avenue
45 Hamilton, Raymond, 418 Walnut Avenue
46 Strong, Clarence, 310 Maple Avenue
47 Baker, John, 209 Maple Avenue
48 McCune, Wayne, 306 Twenty-second Avenue
49 Dick, Clarence, 2109 Ninth Street
50 Robeson, Walter, 2445 Fourth Street
51 Herr, William, 422 Cherry Avenue
52 Hanley, Raymond, 527 Second Avenue
53 Hurm, Blair, 1548 Grant Avenue
54 Zeirs, Edward, 1517 Second Avenue
55 Weir, Donald, 309 Fifteenth Street
56 Fasick, Russell, 827 Seventh Avenue
57 Miller, Irvin, 1510 Third Avenue
58 Robeson, Fred, 813 Seventeenth Street
59 Davis, John, 1908 Eighth Avenue
60 Smith, Donald, 1910 Fourth Avenue
61 McHugh, John, 1537 Crawford Avenue
62 Boring, Paul, 2120 Fifth Avenue
63 McKee, Lloyd, 408 Lexington Avenue
64 Heltman, Paul, 2624 Broad Avenue
65 Lantz, Paul, 2502 Oak Avenue
66 Brubaker, Jay, 2912 West Chestnut Avenue
67 Sutton, Harold, 2829 Maple Avenue
68 Chippenfield, Charles 3018 Pine Avenue
69 Flemming, Wilbur, 228 First Avenue
70 Miller, Charles, 127 East First Avenue
71 Stoner, Carl, 229 Twenty-first Avenue
72 Burkhart, Donald, 800 Crawford Avenue
73 Jeffries, Andrew, 927 Second Avenue
74 Mahan, Kenneth, 300 Seventh Avenue
75 Goodman, Leroy, 1404 Eighteenth Avenue
76 Owens, Herbert, 2705 Sixth Avenue
77 Zeigler, George, 2409 Fourth Avenue
78 Beard, Malcolm, 2613 Union Avenue
79 Tobias, Rodelle, 1712 Twenty-first Avenue
80 Dull, William, 1112 Second Avenue
81 Mays, Russell, 419 East Harrison Avenue

INDEPENDENT CARRIERS

Meyer, Carl, 605 Crawford Avenue 
Morris, Paul, 222 Third Avenue 
Scott, Fred, Dry Gap Road 
Wilt, Kenneth, 2925 Maple Avenue 
Weakland Bros, 1928 Thirteenth Avenue

NEWS DEALERS

Adams, Mrs. I. C., 817 Twelfth Street 
Bowen, S. C., 810 Ninth Street 
Buchanan, S. A., Eighth Avenue and Seventeenth Street 
Colonial Hotel, Twelfth Avenue and Twelfth Street 
Daugherty, A. G., 929 Seventeenth Street 
Ellmore, C., Ninth Avenue and Twelfth Street 
Harris, W. K. G., Margaret and Union Avenues 
Hartle, E., Logan House 
Crepps, G. C., Eighth Avenue and Seventeenth Street 
Levan, Walter, Eighth Avenue and Seventh Street 
Leix, Louis, 2329 Broad Avenue 
Mt. City News Co., 1106 Eleventh Avenue 
Orbison, Ollie, 1711 Eleventh Avenue 
O'Brien, J., Eighth Avenue and Fourth Street 
Pennsylvania News Company, 1108 Twelfth Street 
Silverman and Snitzer, 1431 Eleventh Avenue 
Weir, Alex, 1204 Eleventh Street 
Union News Co., Eleventh Avenue and Twelfth Street 
Union News Co., Tenth Avenue and Thirteenth Street

COUNTY NEWS DEALERS

Jos. Crepage, Blair Four            Francis Bradley, Lilly
Clarence Harber, Blaine City        John Pussey, Madeka
Chas. Pryor, Birmingham             Freeman Tate, Mill Creek
A. J. Hunter, Berwindale            Lester Harshbarger, Mapleton Depot
A. J. Seifert, Bedford              John W. Rowles, Mahaffy
Carl Gray, Bellefonte               J. Albert McDonough, Mt. Union
Tony Verbonitz, Cove Forge          W. H. Miller, Mt. Union
James Laing, Coalport               J. C. Gilbert, Mt. Union
H. Burkett, Curryville              P. W. Moore, Mt. Aetna
Kurtz Stationery Store, Clearfield  Paul Miller, Newton Hamilton
T. & B. K. Wray, Curwensville       O. S. Kagarise New Enterprise
K. L. Hull, Fishertown              Askey & Catherwood, Osceola Mills
Postmaster, Fishertown              Fay Ehredt, Osterburg
Geo Williams Irvona                 William Bloomer, Philipsburg
S. S. Exline, Imler                 Marsden's News Agency, Portage
Union News Co., Cresson             F. H. Kinkead, Patton
G. C. Fretley, Cresson              Robert McCafferty,Petersburg
G. C. Wagner, Everett               J. C. Nolph & Co., Punxsutawney
Union News Co., Huntingdon          D. A. Claar, Queen
J. W. Clapper, Huntingdon           Eugene Baker, Saxton
J. D. Shaffer, Huntingdon           Milton Montgomery, Sandy Ridge
Vance Laird, Huntingdon             Earl Hammond, Spruce Creek
Union News Co., Harrisburg          W. Schwartz, Union Furnace
Mary Teeter, Henrietta              Frank Goss, Wallaceton
R. B. Rohrer, Hopewell              A. K. Waite, Water Street

AGENTS

H. A. Wertz & Co., Tyrone         Thomas Wertz, Frankstown
Union News Co., Tyrone            Casper Hollen, Duncansville
Jerry O'Mara, Tyrone              Eugent Logan, Duncansville
Harpster Brothers, Tyrone         Joseph Isenberg, Duncansville
Tony Allessi, Tyrone              W. B. Myers, Duncansville
A. L. Freeman, Tyrone             James Isenberg, Duncansville
Dean Shimer, Tyrone               P. D. Mulhollen, Bellwood
Robert Rupert, Tyrone             Delia Shoenfelt, Fostoria
Leroy Markle, Tyrone              Leroy Rettburg, Hill Top
Fred Philips, Llyswen             Pete Delo, Hill Side
Wm. Olewine Feight, Llyswen       Warren E. Roy, Juniata
James Goodfellow, Llyswen         Thomas Cashman, Mill Run
Clarence Duffy, Gallitzin         John Young, Spring Meadow
Edna Sessna, Gallitzin            M. D. Pryon, Wertz
Daniel Garman, Hollidaysburg      H. S. Brehman, Williamsburg
G. M. Smith, Hollidaysburg        John Cawley, Ashville
Loy Brothers, South Altoona       Lester Baker, Brooks Mills
Martha Calderwood, South Altoona  D. F. Jacobs, Dean
Richard Smay, Eldorado            Lovell Poett, Dysart
C. M. Johnston, Eldorado          Smanuel Snowberger, East Freedom
Clair Lecrone Eldorado            John Scott, Figart Station
James Barr, Eldorado              Charles Fornwalt, Ganister
Richard Wilson, Eldorado          Wayde Reynolds, Glasgow
Frank Green, Claysburg            Melvin Merritts, Loop Station
John Hoenstine, Claysburg         William Loucks, Lloydsville
Andrew Hershbeil, East Altoona    Russell Thomas, McKee
M. Freedman, East Altoona         George Myers, Mountaindale
John Merritts, Flowing Springs    C. N. Johnston, Martinsburg
Edith Stiffler, Flowing Springs   Guy Fissell, Newry
Jean Miller, Greenwood            E. E. Rhodes, Royer
Cecil Peck, Greenwood             Charles McGee, Roaring Spring
Frank Weaver, Lakemont            Melvin Showalter, Pinecroft
Stephen Foust, Lakemont           H. R. Fickes, Sproul
H. Espey, GY Tower                J. E. Wilson, Tipton
Thomas Eichenlaub, Glenn White    J. D. Turner,
Mullen Walker, Lakemont Terrace

County and Suburban Circulation of The Altoona Mirror

Blair Four, 10       Llyswen, 197
Blaine City, 15      Eldorado, 194
Birmingham, 38       Claysburg, 190
Berwindale, 35       East Altoona, 290
Bedford, 46          Flowing Springs, 37
Bellefonte, 21       Greenwood, 155
Cove Forge, 22       Gallitzin, 125
Coalport, 32         Hollidaysburg, 867
Curryville, 22       Lakemont Park, 179
Clearfield, 17       Bellwood, 529
Curwensville, 7      South Altoona, 289
Everett, 36          Duncansville, 259
Irvona, 50           GY Tower, 6
Imler, 4             Kittanning Point, 4
Fishertown, 10       Lakemont Terrace, 18
Cresson, 105         Frankstown, 54
Huntingdon, 123      Fostoria, 18
Harrisburg, 25       Hill Top, 33
Henrietta, 18        Hillside, 19
Hopewell, 25         Juniata, 1,119
Lilly, 7             Mill Run, 28
Madeira, 27          Spring Meadow, 42
Mill Creek, 20       Wertz, 44
Mapleton Depot, 45   Williamsburg, 284
Mahaffey, 46         Ashville, 23
Mt. Union, 77        Brooks Mills, 27
Mt. Aetna, 15        Dean, 19
McGee's Mills, 5     Dysart, 9
Newton Hamilton, 30  East Freedom, 60
New Enterprise, 4    Figart Station, 49
Osceola Mills, 43    Ganister, 22
Osterburg, 18        Glasgow, 28
Philipsburg, 51      Loop Station, 41
Portage, 28          Lloydsville, 7
Patton, 13           McKee, 30
Petersburg, 40       Mountaindale, 28
Punxsutawney, 35     Martinsburg, 154
Queen, 25            Newry, 67
Saxton, 20           Rover, 17
Sandy Ridge, 24      Roaring Spring, 346
Spruce Creek, 42     Pinecroft, 34
Wallaceton, 5        Sproul, 66
Water Street, 16     Tipton, 47
Union Furnace, 13    VanOrmer 7
Tyrone, 439